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Tag: motorcycles

My colleague over at CarNewsCafe, Aaron Turpen, did a great video review of Elio Motors three-wheeled car recently. Check it out below and let me know what you think.

The aim of the Elio is that it will be an extremely inexpensive car to buy for the masses. Elio Motors hopes to sell the 3-wheeled car for $6,800 dollars which should be a price point attractive to a wide range of buyers. The reason the Elio will be so cheap is that all the components and parts used will be mostly taken from what is already available on the market. That means no having to special order or wait for parts direct from Elio Motors so you can get back on the road easily. This also means you should be able to fix this three-wheeled car yourself easily.

The design of the Elio is not only cool but aerodynamic and fuel efficient. The engine which is equipped is a small 1-liter 70-horsepower engine with 3-cylinders and the EPA estimated 49 mpg in the city and 84 mpg on the highway makes it ideal for commuters or something to just get around town with to have fun. The estimated top speed is 100 mph and you can order it with 5-speed manual or an automatic. I would probably opt for the stick shift since the Elio looks like a lot of fun.

Elio Motors is hoping that the Elio will receive a 5-star crash test rating. Usually with three-wheeled cars they are classified as “motorcycles” meaning they do not need to undergo car crash safety tests. (Well they don't do any crash testing actually.) Whether this is something that Elio Motors can pull off engineering wise in such a small and tight package as yet to be seen though.

Hopefully we will see this car on the road as I really like the concept. As with a lot of great car ideas (Tucker) they can't get off the ground and into production. At the time of this writing the company still has not secured financing to buy a facility to build these.

The Advantages to Owning a Motorcycle

Owning and riding a motorcycle is a thrilling and fun experience for those enjoy travelling the road on two wheels. While riding a motorcycle can be a fun way of getting around compared to taking a car, it presents distinct disadvantages and advantages compared to using a car as you everyday vehicle.

Being a part of a Community

Owning a bike gives you a different kind of membership of a ‘club’ than that of a car owner-whilst there are countless car clubs out there, the social aspect of biking is a different ball game, and has its own ins, outs and quirks-something a petrolhead would be well advised to check out at least once.

The Cost of Vehicles

While there are various conflicting statistics on the subject, in general a motorcycle costs approximately half of a car of equivalent age to maintain. You can use websites such as Lexmoto and other online classifieds to find a bike dealership with fair pricing, whether you decide to purchase a brand new model or quality used motorcycle.

Improved Fuel Efficiency

Motorcycles can offer drastically improved fuel economy and efficiency over a car. A mid-sized motorcycle will typically burn approximately 35 to 60mpg, depending on the size and weight of the bike. With gas prices going up, this is one pleasant benefit to riding a motorcycle which a lot of people don't realize.

Insurance

The majority of concerned mothers will baulk when their hear their child has a bought a motorcycle, since they imagine getting a call from an emergency room one day. While younger or inexperienced riders will of course be required to pay higher premiums initially, those who cultivate a good record can escape get by paying a lower amount in insurance for their motorcycle every year.

Parking

A small issue, but an importunate one nonetheless. How many times have you driven somewhere in a car only to find that parking is a nightmare?
Riding a motorcycle you can generally always find an ‘available space' even if where you park it isn't a parking lot. It is a bit easier to locate parking due to the smaller size and maneuverability of bikes. As long as you can find something sturdy to fix it to if you prefer and a it is safe place you shouldn’t have to worry about anything. security advice at the same time.

Disadvantages to owning a Motorcycle

Obviously, there are some disadvantages to owning a motorcycle, which you’d be wise to consider if you are thinking of getting a motorcycle or motorcycle license.

Safety

We might as well get it out of the way-riding a motorcycle is simply going to be more dangerous than driving in a car, even one with an imperfect safety rating. Aside from being smaller and much harder to see than a car, you’ve got no protection at all from impacts and will inevitably be sent flying from the bike in the event of a crash. Bikes are harder to control to learn how to control due to the 2-wheel configuration. You need to be able to balance well or you run the risk of falling and injuring yourself. This is especially an issue in tight turns.

In order to be safe, make sure that you use predictive thinking as much as possible, buy good quality leathers and a decent helmet, and only ride within the limits of your ability-it’s easy to get carried away and ride dangerously fast.
Limited usage?

Even supercars tend to have more storage space than motorbikes, which begs the question of how practical they can be for anything requiring you to lug a lot of stuff around. Not much of a problem if it’s an average day at the office or you’re out for a morning ride with the guys, but if you and a passenger are going out for the day is there really going to be room for all of your accouterments on the bike? Even with aftermaket storage compartments?

The Weather

When you’re in a car, the windows, chassis and the roof protect you from the elements-not so when you’re on a bike… not so much. Riding a bike in rain or with snow on the ground makes it about 100 times less safe than normal. Other drivers are less likely to see you and your traction on 2-wheels is going to be a lot worse.

The Last Word

While some avid motorcycle enthusiasts might argue that the benefits of owning a motorbike outweigh the disadvantages, they still will never provide as much safety and practicality as a simple economy car. However, riding on a motorcycle is one of the best ways to travel the open countryside and enjoy the beauty of a specific region or landscape in ways you could never in a car. You get to see things in a totally new way and feel a deeper connection with the road. Even if some might not think it is practical, riding a motorcycle is a whole lot of fun.

Hey Everyone, I am listing Gypsy Jack's 2001 Yamaha R6 Champions Edition for sale. This series of R6's were a Limited Edition run and this is the #175 model that was made. This specific Yamaha R6 is heavily modded and contains numerous upgrades and special parts too. Here is a breakdown of what is on the motorcycle;

Full Akrapovic exhaust system – $1,100

Top of the line Marchesini wheels made of lightweight magnesium- $2,000

Ohlins rear shocks – $900

Brembro brakes (top of the line for racing) – $600

Yoyodyne slipper clutch – $800

Crg, lever – $200

Scotts steering dampener – $475

Zero gravity windscreen – $65

Gaifer steel brake lines

RK chain

Renthal sprockets

… and even more! 🙂

The bike has $10,000+ worth of parts installed on it, some of which I will list later. On top of all these parts the body panels are made of carbon fiber. There is also a Quarter Turn throttle meaning to get to full throttle on this R6 you only need to turn a quarter turn. This Yamaha R6 only has 14,000 miles on the odometer and it was always garage kept.

Remember this is Jack Moschetto‘s (Gypsy Jack) R6, a friend of mine who I posted about on this blog a few times and he was well known amount the “gearhead” community in Baltimore and surrounding areas. You can see in the pictures below that this R6 is in immaculate condition. Jack would clean this bike anytime he took it out to ride. Often he would use toothbrushes to clean it up and make sure there was no road or dirt grime on it.

The bike has won an award from Yamaha several years ago but I haven't had a chance to check to check with Yamaha.

Jack took incredible time to build rolling pieces of art and anyone who would want to buy this would be getting a great deal on a one-of-a-kind motorcycle that you won't find anywhere else.

If you are interested in the motorcycle you can email me – cool AT adamsautoadvice.com – with any questions. Let me know if you'd like additional information and pictures and I will try to provide you with as much as I can, but should let you know upfront I will probably refer you to a friend of Jack's who is much more knowledgeable about motorcycles mods and this particular bike than I am.

Currently we are accepting reasonably offers on this bike but there is a reserve price set on the bike and it will not be sold any lower than that.

UPDATE: The asking price for the bike is $8,000.

Note: I will update this post with additional pictures and parts information as needed and requested.

If you think that your neighbor playing loud music in his car was annoying, have you ever seen this Youtube video of Whistler Tips? If you haven't seen the video Whistler tips are devices that you can apparently put on your vehicle's exhaust system that makes a very annoying high-pitch “whistling” sound as you drive your car around. Take a look and let me know what you think.

I think customizing your car is a freedom of expression and speech, but does this seem like something that you would really want in your neighborhood? Hell no! I would hate having people drive around with Whistler Tips in my neighborhood as I am sure readers of my auto blog would as well. I should say especially early in the morning.

I mean what's the appeal of these anyway? I could see how it would be awesome if your car's exhaust system could play rock music or something cool like that. It's kind of like getting louder pipes for a motorcycle. Those are already loud, why make them louder?

If you have an opinion about whistler tips leave a comment below and let me know what you think. I would support anyone who would want to ban then in Baltimore, but that's just my opinion.

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Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee attracts a wide range of vehicles every Saturday. This includes exotics, classic, tuners, motorcycles, race cars, and anything else you can think of.

Here is a great picture gallery kindly provided by Jack Moschetto of Gypsy Jack Racing. You can usually find him at Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee with his beautiful and very customized blue Yamaha R1. I would have used some of my pictures, but his photography skills are much better then mine!